Articles

Your Life is Getting More Expensive to Feed the AI Beast

Let me be perfectly clear from the start, I love technology. I believe in its power to solve big problems and make our lives better. I’ve been a tech nerd since I was a kid, since Commodore to Apple IIe days. But true support doesn’t mean blindly cheering from the sidelines. It means asking hard questions, especially when the hype train is roaring ahead without any thought for the tracks it’s laying down, or who might get run over. My loyalty isn’t to the tech giants, the investment firms, or the CEOs promising a shiny AI future. It’s to you and me, the everyday person who feels things getting more expensive and wonders why. It’s to the broader society that has to live with the consequences of these grand experiments.

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Open Letter to Toxic Workplace Culture Incubators

My friends, I’m writing to you today not as a consultant or a guru, but as a peer, heck even a virtual friend. Someone who has sat in the same meetings, felt the same pressures, and wrestled with the immense responsibility of guiding a group of people toward a common goal. It’s a privilege, this work we do. But I’ve also seen the dark side of it and it’s getting worse with the pace of life and technology we’re facing. I’ve watched brilliant, passionate people slowly dim under the weight of so-called “leadership” that fails to understand its own impact, not just in the workplace, but to people’s personal lives outside of work.

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I Want My Internet Back!

It was 1995, I flick the power switch of my Compaq Presario desktop in my dorm room, the first time I heard that screeching modem tone just weeks before our campus upgraded to T1 connections. That free AOL CD from a PC Mag became my passport to something extraordinary. Back in those days, the internet felt like exploring a strange new city where every alleyway held potential surprises. You’d stumble into chat rooms with names like “DragonSlayer42” or “BeavisOwnsButthead69” and actually have conversations with real people about ridiculous topics that somehow mattered in the moment. You argue, you laugh, you use weird ASCII combos to make a crude but complex reaction.

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Getting Started First-Party Data for Small Businesses. 5 Strategies You Can Implement TODAY!

First-party data is all the data that is generated and collected directly by a company’s own properties and audience. Companies are able to use this data to improve their products and services, understand customers’ needs, and generally provide a better customer experience.

First-party data is immensely valuable for your business as you have ownership of that data. The data you’ve collected can be used for better customer service, increased understanding of your customers, more precise messaging for your marketing and advertising, and knowing for a fact that a 3rd party such as Facebook, Google, or Amazon can’t just change their algorithms and take away customer data from your business.

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By David Tong, ago

The Unsinkable Ship: Navigating the Storm of an Unplanned Retirement

There is a quiet, tectonic shift happening in the world of work, a tremor just beneath the surface that many of us in our fifties are beginning to feel. It isn’t a sudden earthquake, but a slow, grinding pressure.

The ground we’ve stood on for thirty years, the reliable bedrock of experience, loyalty, and deep institutional knowledge is becoming unstable. We are being unceremoniously ushered towards an exit we did not choose, caught in a perfect storm of ageism, automation, and the relentless, short-term logic of the spreadsheet.

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By David Tong, ago

How My Rescue Cat Taught Me About Stoicism and Stress Survival

In the relentless, humid hum of Singapore, a city-state that rewards frantic motion and punishes pause, I had become a master of the urgent.

At nearly fifty, my life was a carefully constructed edifice of full Google calendars and anxieties. I navigated the currents of a high-stakes career with the weary expertise of a long-distance swimmer, convinced the only way forward was to never stop kicking.

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By David Tong, ago

How Big Tech’s AI “Neutrality” Enables Ethical Disasters: 3 Cautionary Tales for Business Leaders

AI is often marketed as an impartial, efficiency-boosting tool, but the reality is messier. As highlighted in videos like “How AI Decisions Go Rogue”, “The Hidden Biases in AI”, and “When Automation Goes Wrong”, AI systems don’t operate in a moral vacuum. They mirror and amplify the data, incentives, and oversight gaps built into them.

For business leaders, this isn’t just a technical issue, it’s a strategic, legal, and reputational risk. When deployed without guardrails, AI can silently automate discrimination, escalate PR crises, or even violate regulations without malicious intent.

Below, we dissect three high-profile cases where household-name companies enabled ethically dubious AI outcomes, unintentionally. Each reveals a critical flaw in how corporations approach AI governance, with actionable lessons for leaders who don’t code but do control budgets and policies.

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By David Tong, ago

The Mat After 40: When Your Body Keeps Score (But Forgets the Rules)

You know that moment when you’re warming up and your body starts listing its grievances like a disgruntled employee? Left knee: “We need to talk about these torreando passes.” Lower back: “I didn’t sign up for this berimbolo nonsense.” Meanwhile, your brain’s back there filing a formal complaint about the new guard retention system it’s supposed to implement.

Here’s what they don’t tell you about jiu-jitsu after 40 – it becomes less about collecting techniques and more about curating survival strategies. The young guys? They’re out there building libraries. We’re building escape rooms.

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By David Tong, ago

Most Gen AI eCommerce Content Sucks (and Brands are Paying For It)

Remember that cringe-worthy ad where a “diverse” group of models all had six fingers, or the product shot featuring a bizarrely distorted hand clutching an otherwise beautiful watch? Or perhaps you’ve scrolled past an eCommerce DTC site where every single product description felt like it was churned out by a robot on a caffeine overdose, full of repetitive phrases and generic platitudes.

You’d think these are just minor hiccups; but they’re glaring examples of generative AI gone wrong, particularly for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands aiming for authenticity and connection. In the wild west of AI integration, many brands are jumping on the bandwagon without truly understanding the reins. This isn’t about AI being inherently “bad”; it’s about using it badly. No brands, big or small, are immune to this, especially in the current hype cycle.

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By David Tong, ago
Gen AI eCommerce Content Sucks

BJJ Leg Locks: From Beginner to Advanced Leg Lock Program Primer

Leg Lock Course: From Beginner to Advanced Leg Lock Course From Beginner to Advanced: Master the Modern Leg Lock Game 1. Straight Ankle Lock Key Mechanics: Hyperextension of ankle joint Forearm across Achilles tendon Hip drive for power generation Knee control prevents escape Force Vectors: Red: Hyperextension force on ankle Blue: Counter-force from hip drive 2. Heel Hook Key Mechanics: Rotational force on knee joint Heel control with C-grip or S-grip Knee stabilization crucial Hip and torso engagement Force Vectors: Red: Rotational force on heel Blue: Knee stabilization 3. Toe Hold Key Mechanics: Figure-four grip on foot Rotational force on ankle Body positioning for leverage Leg stabilization prevents escape Force Vectors: Red: Rotational force on foot Blue: Leg stabilization 4. Kneebar Key Mechanics: Hyperextension of knee joint Hip drive into knee Ankle control prevents bending Straight line of force Force Vectors: Red: Hyperextension force on knee Blue: Pull on ankle Read more

By David Tong, ago

AI-Washing – AI Hype vs. Reality: What It Means for You

The AI gold rush is in full swing. Every corporate earnings call, tech conference, and LinkedIn post touts artificial intelligence as the inevitable future. McKinsey predicts generative AI could add $2.6–4.4 trillion annually to the global economy, while headlines declare AI will reshape jobs, industries, and human productivity. Yet beneath the glossy promises lies a stark disconnect: most organizations, outside a handful of tech giants, are struggling to implement AI meaningfully. For career professionals caught between fear and FOMO, understanding this gap is critical.

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By David Tong, ago
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